Indulging in a little quantum physics and golf. Traveling between Atlanta, Ga., and Hartford. Turning your hobby into a career. No wonder Eric L. Jackson sets his alarm for 5:30 each morning.
Jackson, 48, knows his life is about balance. The White Plains, N.Y. native has recently stepped into the position of chief information officer for the City of Hartford and has not hesitate to implement change.
“The cornerstone of my work is real change, and doing business in real time and online,” Jackson said. “Anytime you talk about Hartford you have history in the same sentence, but history can block us from moving forward. We have to be able to compete with others in virtual space with e-gov, e-commerce and e-education.”
Jackson is not a stranger to the Hartford area; this is his return first since graduating from Wesleyan with a degree in philosophy in 1980.
“I love Hartford a lot more now than when I left,” Jackson said. “I’ve just been friendly and outgoing and people have been a little taken aback, but they realize that’s just part of who I am and where I’ve lived.”
He most recently worked at the Morehouse School of Medicine as chief information officer in Atlanta, where his wife still resides. “My family covers a lot of the country, but that’s modern life,” said Jackson. He made his move back North when a national search for the open position began and Jackson saw the opportunity. “I had executed two strategic plans at the medical school where I had worked for 10 years but I felt that was enough… I wanted to try something different.”
A father of three grown children, Jackson sees how technology needs in Hartford compare to those of Atlanta. “Computing is focused here and both the municipal and school networks have a shared mission to meet the needs of the people they are serving,” he said. “We have already been able to re-implement the HR payroll to one system with single points of data entry for recruitment, retention and benefits. Employees can do self-service for their specific needs.”
Jackson’s longstanding career in computing had been jumpstarted by his hobby. “I had a business and wanted to make it more efficient,” he said. “I helped friends install their own computers and would get calls later into the night. My wife suggested, ‘If you’re gonna be on the phone this late, at least make money on it.’”
Years later, Jackson is doing just that and helping the City of Hartford one network at a time.
Emily Boisvert is a Hartford Business Journal staff writer.
